He reached the base of the mountain two days later. Now that he had given into the desire it was like the wind was at his back. He hadn't come across any monsters which only further piqued his curiosity. The mountain was almost like a different world when compared to the forest. The trees were sparser and he didn't recognize them. He wasn't sure if that was because of the spiritual energy or if it was something from a different world. He traveled through the outer regions of the mountain until he came across a cave entrance. The cave was nestled in a small valley. When he entered he was hit with a wave of spiritual energy. The energy was much purer for lack of a better word. It was as if the energy he had been drawing into himself was diluted or polluted. Further the cave walls acted like an insulator that kept most of the energy inside the cave.

  He aimed a punch into the stone to find it was surprisingly hard. He should be able to punch through metal at this point. Either the stone was harder due to the spiritual energy, or the Network had done something to it. His current guess was a bit little of both. If humans and beasts could absorb spiritual energy, then why couldn't the mountain? He continued deeper into the mountain, using his Dao as his main source of light. He made a mental note to try and learn a skill that would illuminate space for him or find a better way to use his Dao. It was like trying to light his path with the front of a cellphone. It was better than nothing if only just. He couldn't be sure how long he had walked before he encountered the first crystal. It was embedded in the wall half a foot above him. The crystal was small, about the size of his thumbnail but it gave off both spiritual energy and a glow. The glow weaker than his Dao but it was there. He reached up and tried to pull it out of the mountain.

  When he couldn't he cocked his head and sent a stream of electricity into the rock. It was hardly the laser cutter he wanted but it was close enough. It took him a few minutes to dig deep enough to remove the crystal. At first he thought the crystal was a spirit stone but that wasn't it. The spiritual energy inside was nowhere near what it should be. It wasn't really spiritual energy either, or rather the spiritual energy inside was a small part of it. The rest of the energy felt different. It took him a few more minutes to realize what it was. "Mental energy." He spoke aloud. The silent cave causing his voice to feel deafening. As if someone waited just out of sight to take his prize. The dwarves hadn't mentioned anything about mental energy recovery and so far he had recovered it when he rested. He took a moment to try and absorb the energy from the crystal and sure enough he regained the small amount he had lost. Which meant he could fuel his Dao without issue if he just carried these with him everywhere.

  Assuming of course, there were more but he was confident there was. After all the sensation that drew him here had only gotten stronger while he stood. As if he was wasting his time on the appetizer while the main course awaited me. Despite that he wasn't about to ignore the realities of his situation. He doubted something as good as this would exist here with no one around. Either their was a beast guarding the rest of them or the crystals were the danger. Since he hadn't felt anything he leaned toward the former. Regardless he would approach it the same way. He circulated his spiritual energy and strained his ears to the limit. His instincts felt overdrawn so he doubted they would warn him. At least not before the threat was on top of him. "I am as ready as I am going to be." He strode forward. The cave narrowed as it twisted and bent through the mountain. His anxiety mounted as he followed the tunnel. His instincts warred with his fear as he considered going back. He wasn't built to squeeze through tight spaces. He couldn't stop from worrying about getting stuck. When he pushed his way out of the most tightest pathway yet he was ready to give up.

  Only to be hit with the densest source of mental and spiritual energy yet. The sudden surge washed away his thoughts for a moment. When he regained his wits he found himself in a massive chamber. A chamber filled with crystals. Together they emitted more than enough light for the chamber. He stepped over to a stalactite that was almost as tall as he was. As soon as he touched it he was hit by a wave of something. The sudden attack caught him of guard. Blood dripped down his nose as he fought against whatever had happened. It was as if someone had injected acid right behind his eyes. He activated the array on his robes but it made no difference. The attack had already gotten past all his defenses. On instinct, he pushed the Dao of Static into this head. The effect was immediate. The pain lessened and he pulled his hand away. The world spun as he tried to get his bearing. A moment later his instincts screamed a warning, but his body refused to listen. In the next moment his barrier was pelted with something. Dozens of impacts one right after another filled his ears. He bit back a wave of nausea and forced himself backwards.

  As soon as he landed an attack slammed into the back side of the barrier. He bit his tongue with enough force to draw blood. The pain waking him up seconds before the array fell. He rolled to the right narrowly avoiding the storm of bullet like crystals. His mind raced to figure out what was going on. There was no enemy. Yet it was like the mountain had decided to fight him. He banished the useless thoughts and focused on what he could control. He was under attack. He had to defend. He dodged another storm of shards. A flash of motion to his left was his only warning. Before a shard the size of a spear ripped itself out of the stone and shot toward him. He forced energy into the symbol for Prismatic Barrier. The rainbow-colored barrier formed seconds before the spear would've pierced him. A lattice work of cracks spread across the barrier almost as fast as he could repair it. When a second storm shot toward him he gave up on defense. His skill shattered as he advanced. Time slowed to a crawl as he ducked the spear and then moved into a roll. Narrowly avoiding the storm of shards. He conjured an imbued Severing Disc before he finished the roll. He retook his feet and launched the attack in one fluid motion. His target was a chunk of crystal that had just begun to move.

  Crystal met saw and saw won. He didn't let the momentary victory distract him from the real danger. His enemy hadn't revealed himself. His mind raced until he had come up with a theory. So far the attacks lacked intelligence. His eyes scanned the mountains of crystal until he found something odd. In the distance there was a crystal taller by half when compared to the rest. There was a spot at very center of it that emitted a deep purple glow. He activated Severing Disc and was just about to launch it when he stopped. If that was the thing attacking him then it was part of the crystal. Would he destroy this area if he killed it? Assuming he even could. If that happened he would lose whatever this place was. Could he afford that? He cursed as a fresh wave of attacks shot toward him. He launched his Severing Disc to buy him sometime to think. He didn't have enough time or information. He was about to give up on the resource to focus on survival when he had a new idea. He remembered something from a book he read as teenager.

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  In it the protagonist managed to take control over a crystal mine by bleeding on it's heart. He hated the idea of betting his life on fantasy story but he lacked a better option. He gritted his teeth as spiritual energy surged into his legs. He would have to take a risk. The closer he got to the tower the more intense the attacks became. He wasn't sure if the thing knew what he wanted or if it was based on proximity. He leaped into the air to avoid a lance. In the next moment he unleashed a blast of water to push him out of the way of another storm. Energy surged into his feet as soon as he was within fifteen feet of his target. He launched himself forward with all the strength his attributes provided. Seconds before he slammed into stone he reached out with both hands. In a move that would've made Olympic gymnasts green with envy. He used his hands to shift his momentum enough for his feet to hit the crystal first. The impact caused a crater almost six inches deep. Energy surged into Prismatic Barrier. The rainbow shield forming seconds before he blasted by a storm of shards. As soon as the attack stopped, he launched himself forward.

  Now that he was this close there was barely anytime between attacks. It was as if he danced on the edge of a tightrope where one mistake would push him over. One mistake would kill him. He loved it. He unleashed another Severing Disc to split another crystal spike and then he was there. One look told him he wasn't strong enough to break the crystals covering the purple light. It had to be two or even three times as thick but it didn't matter. He placed his palm against the middle and unleashed the Dao of Static. The electricity spread across the front but it wasn't enough. He cursed and activated the array on his robes. The defensive barrier formed just enough to block the next attack but it wouldn't last. He needed to concentrate. If he passed enough electricity through it at just the right amount it should. A moment later his heart almost stopped. A small crack spread across the middle. The sound was soft but to him it might as well have been world shattering he doubled the amount of energy he put into it. One crack turned into a beautiful lattice work. He had less than a second to relish the small victory before he he had to move. He launched himself backwards off the crystal just in time to avoid another lance of crystal. A lance that slammed into the part he weakened. He landed on the back of the crystal lance and rushed forward. He finally got sight of his target. A deep purple crystal almost seemed alive. He cut the tip of his index finger a dripped a small amount of blood on it. When the crystal absorbed the blood less than a second later. He grimaced.

  When no new attacks formed he resisted the urge to recoil. The idea that this thing had drunk his blood made him uncomfortable but if it worked who was he to complain? He hadn't just survived the battle but he also gotten the crystals. He returned to the ground and took a seat at the main crystal's base. Despite the gains he had used up a not insubstantial part of his spiritual energy. He assumed the crystal wasn't classified as a monster by the Network. Either that or it considered the crystals themselves to be reward enough. It didn't matter. He circulated the Ninefold Lightning Canon. He decided to stay until he had recovered everything he lost. Being underground made it harder to guess how long it had taken but he figured it was around two to three hours. Part of him wanted to just stay here and cultivate but he deduced he couldn't. The atmosphere was worsening. Which meant that his absorption rate was more than the recovery. He was pretty sure he hadn't damaged anything so he should be able to return later. That didn't mean he was done. He grabbed two fist sized chunks of crystal and began absorbing them.

  It wasn't until he had recovered his mental energy did he get up and start to consider what he should do next. Ten minutes later he realized he had a problem. The battle had damaged the cave. The way he used to get into the mountain was beneath a lot of rocks. He doubted he could dig his way out. At least not in a reasonable amount of time. He could try to cut through it, but he had no way of knowing if that would destabilize things. If it did he might lose the whole cavern. On the other hand he had found a secondary path. One that would take him deeper into the mountain. He had no way of knowing where that would take him and since almost everything he had encountered until now had tried to kill him. He had to assume it would be lethal. There was one real option. He collected a large amount of crystal in case he needed a fast recovery and then entered the new path. He regretted the choice. This path was tighter than the other to the point he had to squeeze through sideways in several sections. Every time sent a fresh wave of fear through him. He could accept fighting a monster and risking his life but getting stuck? That would be torture.

  When the cave system started to open up again he sighed in relief. He wasn't safe, not by a long shot but it was better. He lit the way with the help of his Dao and a softly glowing crystal. Based on the directions he had taken he assumed he was heading up the mountain and not deeper within the Earth. Which was fine with him. He wasn't interested in going underground. Not if he could avoid it. He also needed to find a good place for his settlement. Somewhere with access to water and other resources. It wasn't long until something attacked him. It was a quadrupedal reptile creature that looked like chameleon the size of a dog. The creature's large eyes made his skin crawl but the monster wasn't very strong. It was much slower than the cat's in the forest. Instead of beating the thing immediately he decided to do it with his Dao alone. The battle was short and his storage bag gained another beast. Between the corpses, the crystals and the other small things he was going to need to dump things soon. He considered trying to use the corpses as bait for other monsters. He didn't know anything about hunting but it shouldn't be a bad idea. He filed it away as something to try later when he had more time.

  He wandered through the caves for two more days before he found an exit. A slopped path that brought him up and then out onto the mountainside. He couldn't help the wave of relief that surged through him as he stared up at the beautiful blue sky. He didn't think of himself as being claustrophobic but he was a city boy at heart. Nature was nice but the sooner he could develop a city the better. He took a moment to appreciate the wind against his skin, the fresh air and the warm sunlight. From what he could see he had made it about three fourths of the way up the mountain. He scanned his surroundings trying to find a place he could leave a mark. After several moments he decided to carve a small sun a few feet away from the entrance. He would need to make a better marker later but he doubted anyone else would come across it anytime soon. Even if they did unless they had a bigger bag than he did they wouldn't make a difference in the amount of crystals. He wanted to reach the peak or at least somewhere safe to sleep before the sun went down. He started up the mountain. He recalled a few documentaries he had seen on ancient cities. He doubted he would need to defend against massive armies, but he would have to fight monsters. Which meant he should settle as close to the peak as possible. That way he could avoid fighting both up and down hill. That and it would reduce the chances of encountering a mountain slide that wiped out the city.

  He wished he had taken some classes on engineering, or anything related to wilderness survival. He stopped himself from going too far down the what-if pipeline. He was here with what he had. It would have to be enough. It would be enough. He chuckled to himself and glanced up at the peak. He was a real pioneer. Maybe he would build himself a statue.